Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of headsman
Two other men, subjects of excellent Holbein drawings in the show, would keep appointments with the headsman.
—
Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Even if your reality is the headsman’s block!
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021
Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives.
—Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021
The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland.
—Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017
Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet.
—David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012
Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Even if your reality is the headsman’s block!
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021
Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives.
—Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021
The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland.
—Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017
Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet.
—David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headsman
Noun
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And her teachers didn’t mention the woman who slipped the executioner’s noose and freed New England?—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
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Amnesty International says China is the world's lead executioner, believed to sentence and put to death thousands of people annually.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Just after the American Civil War, people in Pennsylvania were still following the ancient Roman polymath Pliny’s advice to wrap their aching heads with a piece of a hangman’s noose.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
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The classic effigy comes with a free hangman’s noose or lasso.—
Jack Handey,
New Yorker,
17 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Two days before his death, Epstein made Indyke a co-executor of his estate, along with Kahn, the accountant.—
Ava Berger,
NPR,
8 Apr. 2026
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King will produce along with John Branca and John McClain, who are the co-executors of the Michael Jackson estate.—
Kelsie Gibson,
PEOPLE,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Forget the glossy card-stock mailers with distorted images, designed to make your opponent look like an ax murderer.—
Steve Bousquet,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
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Why hadn’t any of her producers and writers over the years—a murderers’ row including Tove Lo, Julia Michaels, and the duo Monsters & Strangerz, of the Max Martin school—struck the vein of her personality?—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Headsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headsman. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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